Apron Network

Apron Network (APN) is an infrastructure platform for DAPP development, DAPP users and basic operating services.

Needless to say, many projects have worked or are working in the field of blockchain infrastructure service, contributing to both centralized and decentralized mode, in-chain data requests and off-chain data in the chain.

Infura provides API services for developers by creating their own Ethereum and IPF nodes, allowing developers to access data from Ethereum and IPF nodes through API services.

NOWnodes works similarly to Infura, but provides more blockchain network API services. At the moment, he claims to have provided 45 network API services.

Api3 creates a public block chain and provides the Oracle network, as well as manages it through DAO and Kleros. Api3 creates an Oracle Network by sending Oracle to a data provider and providing cross-blockchain aggregation data for DAPP.

BitQuery is a blockchain data processing engine. By aggregating data in the block chain, BitQuery provides users with the data API in the block chain, and also provides the ability to easily analyze data and the GraphQL API in the block chain.

Graph offers the Ethereum and IPFs Network Services index protocol. Using the SubGraph definition, the index information is extracted and installed in a smart contract, and the GraphQL API is serviced by users to obtain information about the data corresponding to the DAPP.

In the existing modes, each project focuses on its specific area. There is no generally accepted technical solution associated with each field.

Both Infura and NOWnodes use a centralized approach to provide API services for blockchain nodes or browsers. Api3 offers an offline data aggregation service using Oracle's method of sending data to the data source provider. BitQuery and Graph are focused on aggregating and indexing data in the chain, which allows DAPP and standalone applications to receive data in the chain. Both provide GraphQL API.

For infrastructure services, the types of services are diverse. As for traditional infrastructure services, these are OCR (optical character recognition), SMS (short message service), SNS (simple notification service), VPN (virtual private network), etc. For infrastructure services in the field of blockchain, there are API services of the blockchain node, API services of the blockchain browser, aggregation of blockchain data, aggregation DAPP data, off-chain data aggregation, cross-chain data API services, etc. There are more types of services waiting to explode.

Summarizing the above types of services, three critical parts of infrastructure services can be distinguished: service discovery, service invoicing, and service billing. These parts are very mature in the centralized architecture of the IT infrastructure, but they are controlled by operators, which harms the free choice of infrastructure service providers and users. We can see how centralized infrastructure platforms controlled by commercial companies such as AWS, Azure, AliCloud and Google Cloud are managed by developers. In the decentralized world of Web 3.0, the situation becomes more complex, and these three important parts are missing and imperfect.

To solve the problems of infrastructure services discovery, service calls and billing in the world of Web 3.0, Apron Labs proposed the Apron network as a solution to improve the ecology of infrastructure services in the world of Web 3.0. In the era of Web 3.0, developers are free to provide and use any infrastructure services that will connect the real world with the world of Web 3.0 and return freedom for everyone!

Nodes operating in the Apron network are divided into two types: Apron Pillar Node, Apron Node. In addition to nodes that can work, Apron DAO manages the Apron network. The entire Apron network will consist of the Apron Pillar node, the Apron node, the Apron trading platform and the Apron SDK.

Any infrastructure service provider can publish their infrastructure services through Apron Node, whether they are operators of blockchain nodes or providers of traditional Internet services and other information technologies. Existing infrastructure services can be made available to the public by deploying an Apron node on any network that can connect to the Internet and access its own infrastructure services. By adding relevant service information to the configuration, the public can discover and use the infrastructure service and receive a fee for using the service. Anyone who has ever provided infrastructure services or plans to provide infrastructure services can become a member of the Apron Network. All participants can provide infrastructure services by managing the Apron node for the Apron network and Web 3.0, and benefit from it.

Apron matches the services provided by infrastructure service providers with the needs of DAPP developers. Infrastructure service providers can implement an upstream infrastructure service chain by deploying Apron Node with one click. Apron Node will provide infrastructure services to the Apron Market smart contract via OCW and synchronize data on the use of infrastructure services into a smart contract, and the Apron Market smart contract will charge for the use of the service.

The Apron Market smart contract will use the data provided by OCW to calculate the revenues of infrastructure service providers and deduct the usage fees that service users must pay. The apron market is not only a smart contract, but also a platform for discovering web services. Service users can find the infrastructure services they want to use on Apron Market, and they can also publish their infrastructure needs through Apron Market and implement a match between supply and demand.